Chicken Piccata is a delicious Italian-American dish that combines thinly sliced chicken breasts, lemons, and capers simmered together in a velvety butter sauce. The best part is it can be ready in about 40 minutes making it a weeknight go-to!
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Editor’s Note: Originally published on March 3, 2020. Updated with all new pictures, expanded information, and improved recipe on September 20, 2024.
Chicken Piccata is one of those dishes that can be found on the menu of nearly every Italian-American restaurant because its flavors make it appealing to the masses.
It’s great for weeknights, but also perfect for gatherings!
We like to serve it alongside rice pilaf and a green vegetable, such as sauteed spinach or garlicky broccoli rabe.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Chicken. I’m using thinly sliced chicken breasts for chicken piccata. You can save money by purchasing whole breasts and filleting the cutlets yourself, but many stores will sell cutlets that are already thinly sliced.
- Capers. I love capers and the flavor they bring to this dish. They are quite salty though so be sure to rinse them before using to remove some of the salt.
- Wine. Use a dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
- Slice 4 cloves of garlic, cube 6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, rinse 3 tablespoons of capers, and mince 1/4 cup of parsley. Take 2 lemons and slice 6 slices, then cut the rest into wedges. Place 1 1/2 pounds of thinly sliced chicken cutlets on a flat surface and season with salt and pepper on both side.
- Place 1/2 cup of flour in a shallow plate and dredge each cutlet in the flour, gently shaking to remove any excess. Save the flour for use later on in step 6. Place the dredged cutlets on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and set aside.
- Heat a large nonstick pan to a touch less than medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to the pan and sear the cutlets until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Work in batches using a little more olive oil and butter as required for each batch. Once the cutlets are seared, remove to a plate and set aside.
- Using the same pan, turn the heat to low, add the garlic and a touch more olive oil, and saute for 1-2 minutes or until golden.
- Add the capers and cook for 1 minute more, then add 1/3 cup of dry white wine, and 1 cup of low-sodium chicken stock and turn the heat to high. Use a wooden spoon to gently scrape the bottom of the pan to dislodge any brown bits, and allow the sauce to boil for 1-2 minutes.
- While the sauce is boiling, add the remaining butter cubes to the flour and roll them around to coat. Shake off the excess.
- Add the lemon slices to the pan, lower the heat, and allow the sauce to simmer for another 2 minutes. Add the floured butter cubes to the pan one at a time and use a whisk or wooden spoon to stir the sauce and emulsify. Taste test the sauce and adjust salt, pepper, or lemon juice if needed.
- Add the chicken and half of the parsley to the pan and coat the chicken with the sauce on all sides. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat and add the remaining parsley. Serve with the remaining lemon wedges and enjoy!
Top tips
- Use homemade stock. One way to instantly elevate the flavor in your dishes is to use homemade stock, in this case, chicken stock. Not only does it have better flavor and mouthfeel than storebought stocks, but you have 100% control over the sodium level in your dish.
- Thickening the sauce. Some folks prefer a thicker sauce for chicken piccata. If you’d like a thicker sauce, make a cornstarch slurry and use that to thicken the sauce to your liking.
- Use a nonstick pan. While it’s not required to use a nonstick pan for this dish, I do recommend it as it will make it so much easier to prepare and to clean.
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Chicken Piccata
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds thin sliced chicken cutlets
- 1/2 cup flour will not need all of it
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed
- 4 cloves garlic sliced
- 3 tablespoons rinsed capers
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 2 large lemons 6 round slices and rest cut into wedges
- 1/4 cup minced flat-leaf Italian parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
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Instructions
- Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides then dredge the cutlets in flour and shake off the excess. Place the dredged cutlets on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Heat a large nonstick pan to a touch less than medium heat, then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and butter to the pan. Sear the chicken cutlets until cooked through (approximately 3-4 minutes per side) then set aside on a platter lightly tented with foil. Do not crowd the pan. Work in batches, using a bit more olive oil and butter as required for each batch.
- Using the same pan, turn the heat to low and add the garlic and a touch more olive oil. Saute until golden (about 1-2 minutes) then add the capers and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the wine and chicken stock to the pan and turn heat to high. With a wooden spoon dislodge all the brown bits from the bottom of pan. Boil for 1-2 minutes then add the lemon slices, lower the heat, and simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Roll the remaining butter cubes in the leftover flour and shake off the excess. Add one cube at a time to the pan. Using a whisk or wooden spoon, stir the sauce to emulsify. Taste test the sauce and adjust salt, pepper, and lemon juice levels if required.
- When satisfied with the taste of the sauce, add the chicken and half the parsley and gently coat all the pieces. Cook for 2-3 minutes to warm through. Turn off heat and add the remaining parsley. Serve with remaining lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Notes
- Thin cutlets are recommended.
- Use an adequate amount of oil and butter for each batch of chicken and do not crowd the pieces in the pan.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to three days and can be reheated in the oven on 325f covered until warm or on the stovetop at low heat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on February 3, 2020. It was completely updated on September 20, 2024.
Delicious and a great video. I made it exactly as written. We loved it and will add it to our dinner repertoire.
Looking forward to making this.
Why don’yt you hgave a Save Button on your website so I could save all t=your recipes I like in one place?
Thank you for all the great recipes and helpful ideas.
Hi Kathie. Right in the recipe card there is save button.
I made this it was fantastic I added mushrooms and black olives. Could I fry a little onion before the garlic or is it better without?
Hi Bridget, we are so happy you enjoyed. We don’t feel onion is needed in this recipe, however, if you’d like to add some you definitely can!
Delicious
Glad you enjoyed, Bob!
Delish! Family approved, including my 10 year old grandson! He absolutely made it disappear. Butter rolled in flour was sooo smart!
We’re so happy you and your grandson enjoyed, Brenda!
Yummilicious
My favorite chicken Piccata recipe I’ve ever made! Delish! And i didn’t even have wine in the house! (Subbed some white wine vinegar) Love the butter cubes rolled in flour tip! Served with broccoli – perfect combo.
So happy you enjoyed, Rebecca!
great
Perfectly balanced, savory and tart. I accompanied it with some garlic and black pepper green beans with a touch of honey and some aromatic basmati rice pressure cooked with onion, garlic and chicken stock…yes I know…but I love garlic, make it your own.
Glad you enjoyed it, James.
I’ve been looking for an easy but yummy Chicken Piccata recipe and this recipe easily hit the mark on both points. Loved your tip for thickening the sauce as my family likes piccata with rice in place of pasta and a thicker sauce works so nicely with rice. Rave reviews from everyone on this dinner and no leftovers!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Donna!
Rolling the butter cubes in the flour and adding them one at a time is absolutely brilliant! In all my years of cooking I’ve never seen this before, but I’ll use it from now on. Thanks!
We’re happy you liked that tip, BB!
Много добра
James,
Your recipe looks amazing and your reviews prove it must be. I want to make it but will need to make it 2 days ahead of time and travel with it. Would you suggest storing chicken and sauce separate for travel? Would it be best to warm chicken in low temp over and warm sauce and add butter then add chicken back in? Or can I make start to finish and store it all together to warm later?
Thank you so much,
Pam
Hi Pam, Jim suggested you can store it all together. Then rewarm over low heat and if it’s a little dry, add a touch of chicken stock or water to loosen it up. You can also make a little extra sauce if you want and store that separately and add if needed. Hope that helps.
Bellissimo!!
Its tempting to try and thicken the sauce, but James is right. Keeping it thin is the way to go. I made it with Spaghetti on the side and the sauce coated it wonderfully and the lemons cut through the richness of the butter. Kids loved it, guest loved it and because it didn’t have cream in it my lactose intolerance wasn’t triggered as much allowing me to enjoy the sauce. Doing 3 batches of chicken thighs total cook time was about an hour and I left the spaghetti till I started on the sauce and they were both done about the same time.
So happy you enjoyed, Brett!
Made this for my wife’s birthday dinner. Fantastic! These recipes are so easy and good. Thank you!
We’re so happy you enjoyed!
Just made this tonight! So good!
I’ve also made your steak Diane recipe. It was for my mother in law for her birthday – her name is Diane. Favorite so -in-law now, lol! Thanks for making me look good!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Alan!
Restaurant quality recipe! I killed it first time out. My wife and loved this. Complleted the dinner in under an hour and it was perfect. Loved the flavor and sauce which I did thicken with some cornstarch at the end.
So happy you enjoyed, JJ!
The flavor was spectacular. Good advice to start slow with the lemon….I only used 4 slices.
My husband loves all of your recipes! Will keep trying all versions ! Thanks James for your taste test…always makes me sure that all my gang will enjoy!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Carol!
We tried this recipe last night, it was great. Lived the lemon taste. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you, my husband loved it and it was quick and easy to prepare.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Cheryl!